Each month of lockdown would cost between 2% and 3% growth for the French economy. Under these conditions, French wood industry companies are looking to restart quickly despite the constraints linked to health security measures. The situation in the wood sector reflects the general state of activity in France. 

“The context is very changing and it does not depend on us. We know what we are doing today, but we do not know what we will do tomorrow, ” admits Jean-Claude Sève, CEO of the Monnet-Sève group.

Reopening of some businesses

On March 17, 2020, the brutality of the economic downturn surprised everyone. "I think the exporters and traders closed too quickly and this led to the shutdown of units that could continue to work," says an entrepreneur who believes that demand has been suddenly divided by a factor of 3 or 4. Few sawmills today are open, but the situations differ greatly depending on the characteristics of each.